


Rogue and Prince

by iArgent



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Claude runs a startup, Dimitri takes over a formerly crooked business, Exes as besties, F/F, F/M, Gen, Lysithea and Felix are baker bros, Lysithea runs a side baking business, M/M, Probably More - Freeform, SO, Taking advantage of Felix when he's newly engaged to get him to set up his bff boss, but also fluff, canon is used for backstories, drunk decision making that lbr, ends well, no beta we die like Glenn, overworked Claude, rom com, soft felix, will try to update regularly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:35:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21519751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iArgent/pseuds/iArgent
Summary: Claude is overworked, but his business is his baby.Dimitri is overworked but his business needs redeeming.Lysithea and her ex boyfriend/current work partner/lowkey bff are just tipsy and smart enough to set the ball rolling on what could be a happy ending, or what could be an unmitigated disaster.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Past Felix/Lysithea, Sylvain Jose Gautier/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 46
Kudos: 199





	1. French Vanilla, Rose, and Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, it's bad
> 
> I couldn't stop thinking about it though so uh. pls be nice.

“Lysithea we’re going to the bar after work. That adorable little wine place? Would you like to join us? They’re doing cheesecake to go with that strawberry moscato you love so much!” Hilda chirped, halfway laying over Lysitheas desk as she tried to get the shorter girls attention. 

“Can’t. I have plans.” Lysithea responded, taking a sip of rapidly cooling mocha from the paper cup on her desk. “Thank you though. Next time.”

Hilda stood up and put her hands on her hips with a huff “It’s because you’re baking that cake for Lorenz aren’t you? You should let us help I know he always orders the most extravagant stuff but seriously, even I’d help!”

A moment passed in which Lysithea typed away and Hilda tapped her foot. “It is because I need to make the cake for tomorrow.” She said at last. “It is a tall order, but he’s paying me, and I do run a side business. I just need extra time to bake and decorate it.”

“Please Lysithea, this isn’t even you not coming out, I just don’t want you to make that monstrosity alone.”

“I won’t be alone.” She responded quickly, biting her lip then chugging the rest of the mocha. Nose wrinkling at the end. “Felix is going to come over and help.”

“I’m sorry your ex boyfriend is coming over to help you bakr your coworker a cake?” Hilda said stunned. Mouth falling open in what Lysithea was sure was an adorable stunned pout. But they’d been friends for too long for Lysithea to do anything but wait out her friends dramatics.

“Oh we definitely have to come over!” Hilda squealed after a moment “Unless it would interrupt your date. You two broke up two years ago and I still haven’t met mystery man Felix. But here he is, creeping back into your life.”

“Mystery man? Pah. You don’t know the man at all.”

“So he’s chatty? Open and sincere? Oh Lysithea, why did you throw him away?”

Lysithea took a moment to imagine Felix grinning bright and toothy, perhaps belly laughing like Raphael, sharing stories from his childhood, and full body cringed. “Straightforward and efficient.” Lysithea corrected “Blunt, a little rude if he doesn’t care about you, being mysterious on purpose would probably irritate him.”

“Wow, sounds like a prize. Why are you inviting him over?”

“Because we’ve been good friends since the breakup and I’m not stopping now.” She paused “Also I sort of forced him to get into the baking thing with me when we were dating and now it’s just our thing. He’s really good at decorating actually! He’s why the roses are always so nice.”

“He…He’s the one who does the flower art?” Hilda sputtered. “Do you have a picture of him on your phone? What does he look like? Two years and you didn’t think to tell your good friend Hilda you have a secret life?”

“I have other friends, Hilda. You’ve met Petra.”

Hilda snatched a wheeled chair in a perfectly manicured hand and spun it over to sit, perching her chin on her hands and grinning. “I wanna know about him. What’s he look like, what do you do, just bake? Where does he work?”

“Knock knock ladies.” A bright voice called from the doorway of Lysitheas office. Claude had draped himself dramatically about the door frame. “Lights out, I’m not staying late so neither are you.”

“Claude, you’re the best boss ever.” Hilda simpered theatrically, standing up and affecting a swoon. 

“You’re both just, so weird.” Leonie said appearing in the doorway behind Claude. “Lysithea, shut down, I’ll give you a lift home.”

Lysithea saved her progress and clocked out, standing and grabbing her purse from the little rack under her desk. “I can’t join you all tonight. But thank you.”

Leonie rolled her shoulders and pushed past Claude (Who appeared to be attempting to act out dramatic charades with Hilda) “I can’t either, I’ve been neglecting gym time, I’ll drop you off on the way!”

“Lorenz is on my shit list for this though, seriously.” Claude said as he slung an arm over Lysitheas shoulders “Who throws themself a ‘welcome back’ party?”

“You said it was a great idea.” Lysithea retorted as they all spilled into the hall. 

Claude kept up his joking commentary as he locked all the necessary doors on their way out of the office building. “I guess it’s just me and my girls?” he said as Raphael waved and headed off to his car with Ignatz in toe. Leonie shuffled her bag, a metallic noise jingling as she withdrew her keys. 

“Yeah, just you, Hilda, and Marianne tonight!” Leonie answered she winked at Marianne and shrugged “Whatever shall you do with two beautiful girls?”

Marianne giggled.

Hilda fake retched. 

Claude pouted “Get the same amount of action I get any other day, which is…none. So I guess we’re going drinking.”

Lysithea rolled her eyes “Get a dating app. Work off the excess energy.”

“Ouch, hey. Came for my life there.” Claude said with a pained hiss, placing his hand on his chest “I may be hot, I may be single, I may have an absolutely stunning personality. Buuut.” His smile turned wry and his tone got a bit more serious “I’m also a young business owner trying to make this place run and also pay you all? So my free time is sparse and my bedtime is never. Because I’m working.” he shrugged “Small price to pay, I guess. Someday we’ll get a partnership or something and I’ll get to go to a spa or get laid or something. But for now.” He slid behind Marianne and Hilda, draping his arms over their shoulders “I’ll have to settle for my best friend and her delightful girlfriend and wine once a week.”

“Speaking of getting laid.” Hilda said slyly “I wanna hear everything tomorrow Lysithea. Or immediately. Text me, I’ll take it off silent just for you.”

“Wait wait, are you telling me lil Lysie has more game than me?” Claude said, expression interested behind his smile. “Do we know them?”

“It’s Felix.” Hilda said, as if it were a reveal.

“Wait that guy you dated two years ago, he back in town? Do I need to fight him?”

Lysithea scoffed “He’d win. And he’s never left town, he literally comes and helps me bake whenever I have an order I don’t want to do alone. We are friends.”

“So you’ve got a guy in your apartment that could take me in a straight fight? I’m…actually more jealous than I was before.”  
“Who could take who in a fight?” Leonie asked, looking up from her phone. “Sorry, tuned out. Lysithea we’re gonna need to get a move on, I’m meeting Ingrid at the gym for warmup.”

“Yeah, sure.” The white haired girl agreed. “And Felix could definitely take Claude in a fight.”

“Wait Felix, Felix Felix? Championship fighter Felix?”

Claude looked briefly like he’d been thrown from a carnival ride “I’m sorry, what?”

Leonie looked unimpressed “Lysitheas ex? He’s like, a genius with a sword. And his hands.”

“Is…Is that a euphemism?”

“No, he’s a world champion fencer, and the boy can brawl. I’ve gone in the ring with him a few times. He’s way good.” Leonie tapped her chin “Absolute shit at archery though. I wiped the floor with him.”

Hilda groaned “Why does everyone know buff mystery guy but meeeee.” 

Marianne patted her shoulder, a tiny smile on her face at everybody’s antics. 

“What am I chopped liver?” Claude asked, faking indignation, but he shot Leonie and Lysithea a smile and tugged Hilda toward her car “Have fun everyone, okay? See you all tomorrow at nine!”

Traffic was light, and Leonie had some interesting meditation music playing in her car so the ride itself was enjoyable. Lysithea and Leonie had been friends for years, like everyone else at Pixel Perfect, a web design startup run by Claude himself. Things had stabilized over the past year, but it was still rough sometimes. However, Leonie and Lysithea didn’t have much in common, nevertheless they got along well. 

“Here’s you!” Leonie said, gliding up to the curb and throwing the vehicle in park. She waved at a dark haired man by the door of the apartment building, and smiled at Lysithea. “Say Hi to Felix for me, tell him I’m going to kick his ass next time we spar, and you make a bitchin cake, alright?”

“Of course Leonie! Tell Ingrid hi for me too. Destroy her, I know you can.”

Leonie nodded in mock seriousness “I got a genuine inspirational phrase from the one and only Lysie, I’ve gotta make her spar me now so I can use this power.”

“Leave.”

They shared one last smile and Lysithea got out of the car to enter her building, Felix falling into step next to her. 

“How was work?” He asked, voice even as ever.

“Urgh, I’ve been dealing with this absolute idiot who can’t decide what they want from this site, so they yell at me, and it’s…urgh.”

“Sounds irritating.”

“Very. How was work for you?”

“Oh, same old. Legal work makes few people happy when your bleeding heart boss upends his business to help the less fortunate.”

“Wow he really did? And you don’t approve?”

Felix was silent as she unlocked her door gesturing him into the apartment.

“No. I don’t disagree. I’m…proud. I like what I’m doing, but it’s rough during the restructuring.”

Felix stretched and Lysithea caught a little flash of silver around his neck, dipping into his black shirt. Huh. Felix didn’t do jewelry, so when did he pick up a necklace? Whatever, a problem for another day.

“Okay, you want buttercream or batter?” Lysithea asked, grabbing a tie off an end table and beginning to sloppily braid her hair as Felix slipped a band from his wrist to tie his own hair back. She held back a giggle. Once she’d gotten him convinced sweets weren’t the enemy, they’d made a great team, always eerily in sync, and she loved it. The silly image of them both tying their hair back as they walked to her kitchen made her smile though.

“Which cake?”

“Vanilla rose.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“A french vanilla cake, with light rose flavoring, and champagne swiss buttercream.”

Felix squinted “It doesn’t sound bad, but I never want to meet who ordered it.” He tilted his head “You’re better with rose flavoring, I’ll take the buttercream.”

“It’s my coworker, Lorenz. And hey, don’t use all the champagne or we don’t get any while this bakes.”

“Should we be drinking while we cook?” Felix asked rhetorically.

“Have we ever done this one hundred percent sober?”

They worked together as easily as they always had. Felix’s sharp eyes watching as the champagne boiled down even as he mixed the first of many bowls of swiss buttercream. Lysithea rapidly and precisely mixing the batter for the cake and grinding edible rose petals with a pestle to mix with a carrier oil. 

Several hours later the several bowls of buttercream were mixed, covered, and sitting in the fridge, and the three tiers of cake were baking in their pans, the kitchen smelling sweet and spiked and floral.

Felix snagged a half empty bottle of champagne from the counter and took a deep swallow, passing it to Lysithea before she could complain.

Lysithea took a more elegant swallow, considered the flavor, and nodded. “I bought five just to be on the safe side. Not.” She said, preemptively ending any complaints “That I thought we’d fuck up, but things happen. Remember the Bananas Foster cupcakes?”

“I try not to, but it’s etched into my mind.”

“That’s why there are three perfectly good bottles of champagne in the cupboard.”

Felix smirked “I believe you mean that’s why there were three perfectly good bottles of champagne in the cupboard.” 

Lysithea set another timer just in case and made her way to her couch, Felix with his longer legs reached it first and sat, a full wine bottle in hand and his cell in the other. He must have had it in his pocket. Lysithea sat down throwing her feet into Felix’s lap and sighing. “I could go to sleep right now.”

“I am not moving three tiers of fancy cake into your cooler on my own again. It’s stressful and I’m not doing it.”

“Fair.”

It was quiet but for the tap tapping of Felix’s thumb over the screen of his phone as he, most likely, chatted with someone.

“Hand me my phone. It’s in my purse.” Lysithea commanded after a few minutes. 

Felix’s eyebrows crept toward his hairline, but he leaned forward to where she’d ditched her purse, and fished out her cellphone. Tossing it to her before turning back to his own.

She had three texts, all from Hilda. The first, a joke about Felix, the second, a picture of Marianne blushing as a server handed her her drink, and the third, a candid picture of Claude looking a little bit lost, when he clearly thought nobody was looking. The accompanying text simply said ‘Lonely af, shits gotta even out soon’ Lysithea frowned and put the phone down. “Let’s watch something while the cake bakes.”

Felix blinked at her and shrugged “Sure.”

Selecting a movie they both liked would always be a bit hard. Felix actually liked horror films, and Lysithea absolutely did not, but where she liked the occasional drama, Felix was bored to tears. They traded friendly barbs and had a few heated discussions about the quality of various generes before Lysithea accidentally hesitated over a rom com in the streaming menu.

“A con man and a prince, how original.” Felix drawled.

“Oh! It’s not a con man, it just says…rogue. Is this a dungeons and dragons thing?”

“No.”

“What you don’t like dungeons and dragons?”

“My character is a half elf barbarian and you can blame Ashe for my weekly game, I was saying it wasn’t that. It’s just….roguish.”

“Looks….dumb.”

“Eh, put it on. All else fails we find something else.”

Lysithea sat up and crawled over, putting her wrist on Felix’s head. “Are you dying? You just offered to watch a romantic comedy? Is it this?” she dipped a finger into the delicate silver chain around her friends neck and tugged the charm up. It definitely had decoration or it wouldn’t hang down his shirt.

Felix blushed faintly, which was odd, and opened his mouth to say something, but didn’t get much more than a surprised wordless noise out before the charm appeared. Or rather, a ring.

A nice ring.

A black ring, with a silver etched engraving.

A ring in Felix’s size. Or so she guessed.

“Hey, Fe. Uh.”

“So. I meant to tell you. Today. Um.”

He was blushing. Lysithea was vibrating, Felix was blushing, one hand on the back of his neck, looking away as she was still holding the chain and ring in her smaller hand. 

“Oh Goddess.”

“It um. I can’t even say it was sudden, but.”

“You’re engaged!” Lysithea wasn’t fond of how screechy her cry was as she scrambled into Felix’s lap, nearly strangling him to turn the ring around in her hands to see the engraving. 

“Lysithea! Do not garrote me before I get to tell you anything.” His voice was even, maybe even a bit severe, but the look on his face was softer than she’d ever seen it.

“Who? You didn’t tell me you were seeing anybody! You dick!” She wasn’t as strong as him, but Felix still made a soft oof noise when she punched him in the shoulder.

“Sylvain.”

“What.”

“Sylvain Gautier? My best friend from-”

“ ‘Oh there’s nothing to worry about we aren’t like that we’re just friends’ Sylvain?”

“Well, we absolutely weren’t together when we were, it was-”

“I knew I couldn’t compete when Ashe told me about your ‘completely platonic childhood suicide pact’ way to wait two years and make it awkward. Tell me you two shacked up like, right after we broke it off. I can’t handle imagining you being as big an idiot as he is.”

Felix blinked, trying to shuffle Lysithea off of him, finally giving up and gripping the ring, jerking, and handing her the jewelry and broken chain. “Get off and I’ll tell you. Damn, you’re energetic.”

“One of my best friends is getting married. I get to be excited.” Lysithea announced imperiously. 

“So.” He rubbed the back of his neck “Like six weeks after we broke up, I uh.” His teeth clicked together as he snapped his jaw shut. “Anyway, we’re engaged. It’s pretty great.”

“He’d better not still be playing the fie-”

“He may have a death wish but that’s not it.”

Lysithea turned the ring over in her hands, swiping her thumb over a stylized crescent moon and starburst. “This is lovely.”

Felix’s voice was soft, vulnerable, and Lysithea didn’t want to look at him for fear he’d hide it away. “Isn’t it?”

Later, the cake in the cooler and the rom coms opening screen on the TV, she looked away from the peasant man catching the prince’s eye to poke Felix sharply in the side. “So you did…what, about six weeks after the breakup that resulted in you getting engaged now?” 

Felix snorted to throw her off the sight of pink flushing his cheekbones. “I…Nothing.”  
“I’ll get it out of you eventually.”

But Felix wasn’t paying attention. His brows were furrowed as he watched the prince on screen be dense, yet charming. “I’m not sure I can watch this.” He mused “This guy is just…Dimitri in another body. It’s weird.”

Lysithea rolled her eyes. And rolled them harder when the rogue tried to flirt his way out of the princes custody, but the mans earnestness resulted in even bigger trouble. “Yeesh, he’s just like….” Her eyes widened. “Fe. Is Dimitri single?”

“...Yes?”

“We are gonna recreate this film.”

“Please tell me whatever I’m doing results in you finally giving me the go ahead to try and get your company to work with mine.”

“You can’t take it away from Claude and there can’t be anything clauses about interoffice relationships. You did say Dimitri was upending the place right? So I don’t have to worry about Claude getting taken to the cleaners.”

“I’m not a total dick, Lysithea. There’s a reason I didn’t try before. But we are drowning without a tech branch.”

“Urgh, hard same. I think our bosses should kiss.”

Felix took a swig of champagne. “I’m drunk and romantic, let’s do it.”


	2. Cayenne and Milk Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hectic morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just Sylvix trash with Lysithea supporing her buddy. 
> 
> Title is actually one of my favorite treats! I love cayenne and milk chocolate melted down, and put over strawberries? Shit ye. So that's Sylvix to me.
> 
> You also get a bit of Dimtri through Felix. 
> 
> Anyway, this is fluff and it'll be a bit but soon, the rom-com setup shall begin.
> 
> Also there is a lot of Soft Felix planning his wedding and Sylvain doing the same so it's not...just DimiClaude? 
> 
> I'm working on if Lysithea needs a ship?
> 
> Also, yall want this explicit? because I am a simple smut peddler and I'm very lost in this relatively cute idea.

At five am sharp Lysithia rolled out of bed to the gentle chiming of her phone and began getting dressed. Neither she nor Felix had slept much. Having to get up to crumb coat the cakes, put a layer over them, create some delicate latticework to be peeled from wax paper and carefully wrapped around the cake. All while tipsy, mind anybody listening. But then, she and Felix, ace team that they were, always did their best art when hovering between sober and trashed. They’d only drank a bottle and a half of champagne each but…’only’ was an interesting word to put there. Where Felix was willowy, slight, and delicate looking (until you actually put your hands on him and realized he could probably lift you above his head and snap you in half), Lysithea was just little. Neither of them really had the metabolism to break anything but food down.

Felix’s phone on Lysithea’s end table was vibrating so frequently she was sure he was missing a call. The man himself was bundled up in a blanket and a pair of sleep pants on her couch, dead to the frantic buzzing.

“Hey.” She said firmly, bringing her hand down sharply on the side of his head and jumping back. “Your phone is going to generate enough friction to burn my furniture. Answer it!”

One amber eye cracked open. “Texts.” He mumbled, eye slipping closed again for a moment, then snapping all the way open as he sat up. “What time is it?”

“Three hour decorating time. Get dressed I’ll start your coffee.”

Felix reached out for a small bag he’d brought with him and fished out what Lysithea assumed were his clothes for the day. “You don’t even drink coffee.” He said as he pulled the shirt on over his head and reached for the waist of his pants.

“Yeah but you do, also, are you just going to take your pants off in front of me? Really?”

She was met with not simply an exasperated look, but a pre-coffee Felix exasperated look.

“I assure you nothing has changed since you last saw me without pants, turn around if it bothers you.”

She did turn around with a huff, almost mentioning the shiny black engagement ring now slid onto his left hand.

_***_  
_Lysithea oohed and ahhed over the ring, before snagging Felix’s hand and slipping it onto his ring finger. “You should be wearing this, you ass!”_

_“Y’know two very different people have put this ring on my hand and I’m not sure I like it.”_

_“Shut up”_

_“I’m just stating a fact.”_  
_***_

“I’m going to brush my teeth.” Felix said, smoothing his clothing, a brush in his hand. “Give me five minutes.”

“I’ll start getting everything out”

They had been choosey on what they left out. But nothing was too cold to use. Lysithea did start the coffee, a larger amount than her machine was usually used for. Though she used it for hot chocolate, so there was that. Felix emerged almost exactly five minutes later, hair pulled back and elegant like he was going to work, rather than the messy tail it was in yesterday.

With barely a word they jumped into decoration and full frosting.

At eight o’ clock, Lysithea started readying anything she needed for work as Felix, armed with a pastry bag and a toothpick, finished the floral and ivy arrangements on the top tier, and set it in a dome. “Ideally we could have done this at your office, Lysithea.” He grumbled, trying to stabilize the structure. “You don’t….transport this.”

“Well, you’ll have to drive extra careful now won’t you.” A pause “Weren’t you getting like a million texts this morning, aren’t you going to respond?”

“Ah, fuck.”

“I’ll get the packaging ready and all the extras, you do that and bring your car around.”

Felix was already unlocking his phone and, Lysithea felt a bit like she’d found a unicorn, blushing a little.

“Nudes? It’s nudes isn’t it? You’re in my house that means I get to see your boyfriends dick, it’s a rule.”

“It’s not a rule.” But he didn’t even sound angry, honestly, one little ring and it was like the Felix she’d known for years had vanished. It was cute. “It’s a string of good morning messages. I told him I had to be up at five.”

“He sent you like a million good morning texts to be your alarm clock.”

“He’s stupid.” Again, no heat, who was this man.

“He’s cute.”

“...Yeah.”

“Felix, go get your car. This is cute and uncomfortable.”

“Fuck you Lysithea.”

“Fuck you too Felix, also all my coworkers think we hooked up last night. Well. Hilda and Claude do.” She’d rolled over and read those texts in horror at four thirty. “So like, do I tell them you’re soon to be Mrs. Gautier or-”

“Fraldarius is my name. Staying that way.” Felix cut her off “And…I’m sharing it, I guess.”

“You’re literally ending his bloodline.”

“What? No! I-”

“Felix that's so metal. I thought you were going soft but you’re destroying the direct line of an aristocratic family.”

Felix hung his head, shook it, color still high in his cheeks and swept out of the room. Once he was gone Lysithea grinned until her face hurt. New Felix was cute and raw and definitely the ditzy romantic she needed in her life. Old Felix was her bestie, and he would be back, but New Felix was a treasure and she loved him.

She carefully poured all the coffee she could fit into her largest themos and, as Felix wasn’t there to tell her no, dropped a peppermint stick inside before sealing it.

Oddly, she heard Felix return before she saw him.

“Yes. Yes I was going to tell you. Dimitri I swear to Sothis. Yes. Why are you like this, why are you always like this? Yes, yes I love you too I’m glad you’re so happy for us, why are…are you crying. Goddammit Boar. Yes, I’ll see you later. Do not cry again. That’s a half assed promise do not cry on me.” He looked up when she clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter and mouthed ‘let’s go.’ Before going back to consoling his boss/best friend.

Lysithea zipped the cake into a rolling bag and made sure all three tiers were secure before shoving the handle into Felix’s free hand, and shouldering the duffel for set up. A smaller canvas bag with their thermos’s in he other hand.

“Dimitri I have to let you go, okay? Yes. Yes, Lysithea. Yes I know we don’t have a tech bra-do not use me as your business middleman. Do not, Boar.” a pause. “Fine, be safe, see you soon.”

He hung up and looked to Lysithea “You comment on that and I push this mobile cake rack down the stairs.”

“I wouldn’t dream of commenting on how cute you are.”

Lysithea counted the lukewarm glare as a win.

She counted her second win when Felix took a sip of his coffee in the car, blinked, and said “Huh. Sweet.” She retorted with “Just like engaged Felix.” and he was driving so he couldn’t slap at her shoulder or even glare too intensely.

It was glorious.


	3. Pull Adrestian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lysithea and Felix arrive for set-up. But everything outside of the cake baking goes wrong. Claude and Lysithea have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a note, Blue Lions is my favorite route, then Golden Deer, and I dislike Edelgard so much I never plan to do the Black Eagles route to completion, just to Silver Snow. The Black Eagles business retains its adversarial nature in this fic. Though all the characters but Edelgard and Hubert jump ship as they can in game. 
> 
> Just wanted to be clear this wasn't an 'all three houses reach an understanding' fic. It's pretty much a modern 'BL/GD team up to say fuck the police and do their own thing' fic.

Lysithea was buzzing with energy when Felix pulled up to Pixel’s office. She always was before setup. Sure, these were her friends. But still, this was a paid gig, at her work. 

For his part, Felix scoped out the street, looked for other cars, took note of pedestrians. He’d been like that as long as Lysithea had known him, always watching, uncomfortably observant.

Paying no mind, she opened the door and scuttled out, starting to unload everything to the sidewalk. Felix followed after a moment, moving almost confusedly as he arranged the carrier. “What time do your coworkers arrive?”

“A few should be inside, it’s quarter to nine.”

Felix trailed off, walking in a way that indicated an uncharacteristic hesitancy. The reason he seemed so odd was validated when Lysithea tugged the door only to find it locked. She tended to lose the forest for the trees in her tendency to rush. So the dark hallway and locked door were truly a surprise. She hastily punched in a little code on the box and unlocked the door herself, opening it for Felix who entered, an odd look on his face.

“The break room is just this way.” She said, pushing down any ominous feelings and marching ahead. 

Stony in his silence, and sharp eyed in suspicion, old Felix was back in full force, but he followed obediently anyway. Honestly with him at her back Lysithea had always felt safer. He’d been the one to go investigate odd noises at night when they were together, honestly he’d still come over to do so after the breakup, despite her insistence she wasn’t afraid. But she also knew enough to know he was absolutely not going to say whatever he was thinking. 

Lysithea flipped the lights as she went, and gestured broadly at the table in the breakroom. “This is where we set up. If we hurry we can finish by nine, since everyone else is running behind. Claude probably pushed the time back, I haven’t checked my email yet.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Felix did not sound convinced, but, ever dutiful, he helped set the cake up anyway.

Nine came and went, and the frenetic energy inside Lysithea that said something was wrong amped itself up to eleven. As Felix, arms bracing dowels to hold the cake together stiffened, she almost cried, worried something had happened. 

“Lysithea I’m getting a lot of texts and I can’t let go. Grab my phone?”

Though her hands were shaky, she reached into Felix’s pocket to extract his phone easily enough and checked his lock screen. “Um. One from Dimitri, two from Sylvain, and one from Ashe?” She read off the names dutifully.

“There’s no code.” He grunted, shifting to balance a layer “Swipe up and read Dimitri’s.”

Feeling awkward but thankful Felix was doing all the physical labor for the setup, she unlocked the phone, poked his messages, and tried to avoid the intro words of everything but Dimitri’s text. “Hey Felix, sorry to text business on your day off, I know you have plans. But when possible I need you to come in.” She paused “Wow he’s formal.”

“Something is wrong.” Felix said, voice tense as he snapped another dowel in place. “He always tries to make it seem like it’s not important. But he only texts me like that when something’s gone to hell.” He redoubled his speed, still careful not to damage anything, and completed his task in silence. “I’m out, need me to drop you anywhere?” He asked, reaching out for his phone and opening the other messages, eyebrows flying up and mouth twisting in displeasure.

“No, I’m good. Let me know if you need anything?”

Felix nodded sharply and left, a half step faster than when he walked in.

Lysithea stood in the empty breakroom, cheap carpet but nice seating, round tables and wall lamps. It had always reminded her of a big living room. Though with Claude’s disdain for corporate sterility and Hilda’s inability to handle ugly things, their office would never be the standard cubicle affair. She checked the clock on the wall, and bit her lip at the time. Quarter to ten?

She could have pulled out her phone and checked her email. But the deep seeded worry made her particularly averse. Odds were, Claude discovered a trend and told everyone to come in at ten. He’d done similar things, though usually with a few days warning. She walked to her office and, using the spare key she had from the keyring from the outside box, let herself in. All else failed, she put in a bit of free work. 

She flipped the light on, and settled at her desk to log in. She set up her usual programs and opened her work email to see if her problem customer had sent any pertinent information. 

Header: Cancelled

Header: Cancelled

Header: Cancelled

She blinked. Shakily opening each email, and feeling her eyes burn as their top three accounts announced the loss of their business. All, of their business.

She bit her lip. Several of them had trust funds. She knew Lorenz and Claude had dipped into theirs for pay on bad weeks. She’d used hers to pay rent. They were lucky, she knew. Lucky Claude was willing to go weeks living off an inheritance and not paying himself even though it made him uncomfortable. 

But this wasn’t a slow week, or a no pay, or a computer glitch that brought them low for three days.

This was career ending. 

Her cursor hovered over Adrestian Enterprises email and shook just a little. 

Leonie wouldn’t like it, but she could work with Lysithea as she fell back into baking. Raphael had great business sense, if needed, she could use him too. The others were going to be unhappy, set back, and sad. But then, Claude was going to take it worst. The business had been a long shot, but he was a genius, and he had grand ideals, they’d all believed in him. He’d worry he failed.

“Knock knock.” A familiar voice called from the doorway. The man himself. “Hey kid.” He said softly, stepping in, looking somber.

“C-Claude, I-”

Claude crossed the room rapidly and embraced her as she stood and sputtered. “Hey, hey, not your fault.” He soothed. “Bit of a shock right?”

She bunched his shirt in her hands “Is it over?” She muttered wetly, refusing to look up. Just because she loved Claude like a brother didn’t mean she ever wanted anybody to see her crying like a child. She let go of his shirt and smoothed it out with trembling hands. She kept her eyes down, staring at his untucked shirt and unscuffed shoes.

“Well, it’s certainly a setback.” His voice was doing that stupid fake bright thing. 

“Don’t condescend to me.” Lysithea spat.  
“Fine, fiiiine.” He groaned in the same tone, before evening out, putting both hands on her shoulders. “It’s bad, not gonna lie. Adrestian pulled out of a bunch of deals and changed course at about eight thirty. They’ve pretty much harpooned any floundering partners who didn’t go on with their latest restructure. So we need to all see what we want to do next.” 

Lysithea sighed out a shaky breath. “Okay.”

Claude hugged her again before she could protest. “We’ll land on our feet one way or another. Less high risk business, inheritance funding, or just…doing what we can.”

“Alright. I’m with you. I might be able to help but I need…to find out what’s going on first.”

“Why don’t I see if anybody is willing to drive in for cake, hm? Mystery guy still around?”

“Felix got a message from his boss before you got here and took off. I bet they got hit by Adrestian too.”

Claude patted her on the back. “Well. We won’t know what’ll happen until it happens. Lets white knuckle a miracle and hope a god somewhere is listening, right?”

“Sure.”


	4. Bitter Pill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shit has hit the fan and everybody is going under, fast. Thankfully it all comes together pretty quickly.
> 
> Just had to get some of the angst out of the way. Fluff, smut, humor, and so much more return soon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is stressful. I'm very sorry.
> 
> But after a fancy board meeting we get to see the golden deer! 
> 
> And after we see the golden deer, we get a romantically charged merger dinner, Sylvain in his underwear in a restaurant parking lot, Claude meeting Dimitri, Felix and Marianne trying to run a meeting because these assholes WON'T, Felix's trunk closet, Lysitheas inability to not shock her friends, bestie antics, sweet Dimitri, and so much more.

Felix hit the break in his designated spot so hard that his body was thrown forward. The COO placard a scarce inch from the front of the vehicle as he twisted the key and threw open the door. Rocketing out and setting off at a jog to the front steps. Ostentatious, marble, and he climbed them like a breathless soldier storming a throne room in the midst of a final battle.

Frazzled, he threw both glass doors open and entered, pulse hammering in his throat and eyes darting about. The gleaming counter ahead of him, usually staffed by an older woman, empty. He pursed his lips and refused to stop moving, bypassing the elevator and flinging open the door for the stairs and starting up. Almost all the staff were left over from Lambert, then Dimitri’s uncle, then the former CFO, Cornelia, before Sylvain had been placed in her position.

_“Hey we have a situation and like, no staff. For forever. Get here.”_

Felix opened the door to floor two and walked out, looking over the empty cubicles and the absolutely silent offices. And his heart rate ticked up a bit more, thundering as he felt an anger that had been lost for so long heat his throat.

He threw himself back into the stairwell and stormed the door of floor three, and found it deserted, the same with four, but when he hit five, Dimitri’s floor, his floor, the CXO floor, he immediately heard shouting.

Sylvain and Dimitri shouting.

At each other.

The rage subsided to a sickly chill in his stomach. Ashe was sitting on the floor, Annette in an office chair, eyes red. Ashe was fiddling with his phone, looking morose.

“Felix, thank the goddess!” Ingrid cried, skidding around a corner, Felix stabilized her as she near collided with him.

“What the fuck happened?”

Not minding his tone at all, Ingrid was suddenly all business “At about 8:30 Adrestian pulled out of five business deals. We pretty much got shot in the foot, as they were linked with restructuring. About 75% of our employees were planted, so….Found out why our manufacturing turnover was what it was, and why we couldn’t get anybody in tech.”

“Did you just say seventy-five percent?”

“Yeah, Cornelia, it’s…it’s bad. We still have three manufacturing sites, but absolutely no tech branch, and we were drowning before. Nobody but you and Dedue to oversee the plants, it’s…Felix, I lied about the seventy five. I didn’t want to freak you out. We are literally the only employees of Bright Lion. It’s us.”

The hall was silent as Felix forgot how to breathe. He heard the clap of a hand over a mouth and Ashe making an uncomfortable retching noise.

And he heard Dimitri and Sylvain pick up again, screaming themselves hoarse.

“How long have they been fighting?” The buzzing in his hears led to his tone being disconnected and cold.

“An hour or two.” Annette rushed out. “Dimitri started getting antsy and spiraling and Sylvain stepped in and then they just…started yelling.”

Felix nodded, and spun on his heel down the hall, ignoring Ingrid and Annette’s confused voices. He dipped into his office, wrenching the top drawer of his desk open with a bit too much force and pulled out a tin. He popped the top open, and saw five different colors populating the mint assortment. He plucked a red one out and slid the tin into his pocket, and set out again.

“Felix what the hell are you doing?” Ingrid asked, frazzled as he stormed back down the hallway.

“The door.”

Before Ingrid could answer, Ashe was off like a shot, wrenching the door outwards for Felix to stalk in.

It took a moment for the two warring men inside to notice him. Ashe shut the door behind him. Bless Ashe, he knew all his tricks.

Dimitri was flushed, as was Sylvain. Dimitri with both hands on one side of his desk, leaning over with teeth bared and throat tense, His uncovered eye wild. Sylvain stood a few feet away on the other side, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, his mouth softened a moment from the unhappy twist it was in when he saw Felix, but he didn’t give an inch.

“Sit down, Boar.”

Dimitri whirled around in time to be met with a small hand on his chest.

“Sit, or I push you. Stop. Yelling.”

Dimitri grabbed his chair and sat, but didn’t seem happy. When he opened his mouth to say something, Felix jolted forward a step, one hand reaching behind Dimitri’s head and the one holding a red mint between his fingers vanishing into Dimitri’s mouth.

Sylvain sputtered, halfway to a laugh.

Dimitri’s eyes widened in offence and a bit of anger, even as Felix’s fingers left his mouth, the mint on his tongue like a halfhearted attempt to give a cat a pill.

“What does it taste like?”

Snapping his mouth closed and chewing a moment, Dimitri snarled “Shea butter. At least wash your hands first.”

“I don’t have lotion on my hands and that was cherry, naptime.”

“I don’t have time to take a nap, Felix, my company is in shambles we are going out of business as we speak!” His voice rose every word.

“Dimitri, leave it to us.” Sylvain said, finally. “We’re your cabinet. Let Felix and I take over the big stuff. You trust us. Let us try to salvage this.”

“You need your meds, Dimitri.” Felix doubled down “I’ll be damned if I ever see you like that again.” He turned and rummaged through a cabinet across the room, grabbing the pills he knew were needed.

“I…I don’t deserve you two.” Dimitri deflated, rage giving way to melancholy, as it did. Felix counted out what was needed.

“Is this supposed to be 300mg? Did they up him?” He asked.

Sylvain jumped in “Last week. That’s accurate.”

“I’m right here!”

Felix placed his medication on the desk. “I know you have a cot. I included your tranquilizer. You can help when you wake up. But as you told me in no uncertain terms to do this when you get like this, that’s what’s going to happen.”

Dimitri took everything in one go. “I’m sorry. Especially about our fight, Sylvain. You didn’t deserve that. It should be a happy day.”

Sylvain laughed and pulled Dimitri into a one armed hug. “Hey, this isn’t your fault, but you gotta take care of yourself. I’m not mad.”

“Felix.” Dimitri continued “I should be able to handle this, in my position. I’m so sorry.”

Felix snorted and brushed a hand through the air as if to physically bat the words away. “We all have limits. Yours are different. Rest, reset, then come help us with this shitshow.”

“I will.”

Dimitri made his exit out a side door and it wasn’t long before the others spilled into the office.

“Alright, fire out, now what do we do?” Ingrid asked, eyes sharp as ever.

“Feelers for anybody else effected. If they took all our upper staff, our manufacturing is going to take a hit. Ingrid, I need you to go to Sites A, and B, make sure the staff there is happy, Ashe, the feelers. Mercedes, find anybody, literally anybody that wasn’t here, see if they’re still working here.” The woman was still flushed from her run inside, Dedue looking sorrowful even as he was dressed for his day off. “Dedue, I need you to make sure all terminated employees don’t have access to the building. Also, start looking for smaller office listings-”

“Lambert bought this place outright. We don’t pay rent. Just property tax, which is reasonable if we have any output. I recommend renting out the lower floor office space if we won’t use it.”

Felix blinked. “Good to know, do that. Uh…Sylvain-”

“Yeah babe?”

He felt heat crawl to his cheeks even during this very inappropriate moment “You…I need you to compile company finances, and get me an outlook for how long we can keep the doors open and everybody paid if we produce nothing past this week. Then if we do, projected outlooks, the usual.”

“Don’t strain my abilities or anything.” Sylvain winked “But as you say, boss man, I’ll get cracking now.”

“What about me?” Annette asked “You didn’t tell me what to do?”

Felix sighed “I need you to draw up an extremely generous merger and contact Golden Pixel, I think I found a tech branch and if they got hit too, they’re in the same boat as us.”

Annette nodded rapidly. “Can do!”

“Get them over there once they’re finished. I’ll email you the address.”

Felix reached over and grabbed Dimitri’s chair, sinking down as everybody fled to their tasks and wheeled himself to the desk, logging in under Dimitri’s account, opening email, and getting started on correspondence.

He was three emails out of three hundred when the phone rang.

“Bright Lion head office, Fraldarius speaking.”

“Ah, Felix. We have a situation.” A familiar voice gritted out over the line. “We were hoping Bright Lion had space for an acquisition. Seiros is underwater, as of today.”

“Give me two days to have Annette draw up papers, Seteth, we are taking on water here. We have…eight employees.”

“If I have paperwork can the dregs of our company come over now? We have seven.”

“Sothis…Bring liquor.”

“Normally I would disagree but in this case, We’ll be over with our offices and a few bottles of wine in a half hour. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said we went underwater, the building isn’t even ours.”

The call ended.

Sighing and rubbing his temples Felix reached over to tap Annettes line “We have an acquisition. Get whoever is here together for Seiros signing in thirty.”

“Felix how in Fodlan-”

“Oh! I’m in better luck than expected!”

Felix’s head snapped up to blink at the long haired man in the doorway.

“Ferdinand, what the fuck?”


	5. De Arbol and Espresso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of work happens in a very short time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so long and it's....not even fluff, it's just really boring worldbuilding. But I got actual interpersonal relationships in it?
> 
> Felix does not have seven evil exes, and is not Scott Pilgrim. For one, there aren't seven, two, none are evil, three, his name is Felix.

After a moment of Ferdinand smiling sunnily Felix noticed he was actually holding things. “Did you bring me coffee?”

“Yes! One of the spicy ones, with an extra shot of espresso.” Taking that as an invitation Ferdinand entered the room and set the coffee on Dimitri’s desk. Felix didn’t recognize the logo on the cup, so he just assumed it was a smaller shop closer to the Adrestian head office.

He’d had…so much coffee today, but he picked it up and took a sip. Spicy. Noticeably so, and bitter. Felix’s eyes fluttered closed and he hummed in a rare display of enjoyment.

“Has my offering passed muster?”

Felix waved a hand, “Tell me where you got this.” he said after swallowing “And also about the paperwork you’ve got there. If you’re serving me or Dimitri I’ll need to call Annette up.”

Ferdinand set his armful of manila folders on the desk as well. “I assume you are aware of what happened this morning. I want you to know most of Edelgard’s peers did not know or agree. As a result, we must seek new employment.”

Sputtering a bit into his (wow really good) coffee Felix cleared his throat, reaching for the top folder and flipping it open. Petra Macneary, Translator, Speaks Brigid, Dagdan, Almyran- Felix closed the folder, grabbing the one beneath. Caspar von Bergliez, Security, trained in- “How many folders are right here, Ferdinand?”

“Six, including my own.”

“And you’re aware I’m not incompetent?”

“I thought you would say that!” Ferdinand continued, as if Felix hadn’t halfway accused him of corporate sabotage. He opened a seventh folder and offered a carefully stapled sheaf of paper to Felix. “This is formatted for our…For our former employment. But Adrestian has, had…Anyway, we were very thorough in hiring. If you would like to go over it with Annette, she can verify it. We are all willing to sign these papers. Roughly speaking, if we are lying or trying for something so low as espionage, we would face legal ramifications and repayment.”

Felix took the papers and looked over the first page. “I have an acquisition meeting in-” He looked to the computers clock “twenty minutes. Call your people, get out of the office, I’ll run down to Annette and have her get our contract. Meeting room F, floor three.”

“Thank you!” Ferdinand said, nodding sharply and reaching into his pocket for his cell. “I will get everyone here immediately.”

As he walked out Felix put his face in his hands, feeling sluggish despite the massive influx of caffeine. He reached blindly for the office phone and grabbed it on the third swat, he balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder, flipping open all the files and scribbling down names, as he called down to the security desk.

“Dedue, we have a lot of people coming over, can you take down some names?”

“Of course, Felix.”

“Splendid.” Felix carefully read off the full names of the Adrestian deserters “And the remnants of Seiros are on their way over, let Seteth in, the usual. Please tell them conference room F.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Dedue.”

He swept all the folders back into a file, the contract on top, and went fishing through Dimitri’s desk drawers for paper, coming up with a notepad he was able to scribble a quick summary of events onto. He was technically authorized to make all of these decisions. Dimitri at worst would be irritated he wasn’t there for them. But still, he should at least try to make him aware.

Felix slipped through the side door into a small conference room. While he had said he knew Dimitri had a cot, they all knew it had been a minor jab at everyone. This conference room had become the designated nap room for every higher up in the company. Dedue and Sylvain had brought up a vending machine one day, and Ashe had promptly voided their warranty by rigging it to give all the food for free. Which meant they had to manually stock it themselves as no company would touch it. As a result it was used for all down time. Thick rugs, a dog bed he had seen Annette purchase and place for her own uses in the corner, a little tray next to it stocked with pens and tylenol. A few plush couches and several fold out cots, folded blankets. They needed to stop trying to work fifteen hour shifts during restructuring. Cute as it was, this was a little pathetic that they’d had to set up a room for when they overworked themselves.

By the far wall Dimitri was sprawled out on the cot Felix had mentioned, half covered and still tense looking.

“Felix?”

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“It’s been twenty minutes.”

That was fair. “How long before anything kicks in?”

Dimitri sat up, looking worried, he groped for his eyepatch. Which Felix moved in to intercept. ‘Do you need me?”

“I’d…Like you to verify a few decisions I made in rapid succession.”

“Of course.”

Taking a deep breath, Felix sat at the edge of the cot. “Seiros is gone, they have seven employees, and will be here in fifteen minutes to sign acquisition paperwork. So we have fifteen employees.”

“Oh my-”

“I also am having Annette sign up merger work for Golden Pixel. Lysithea’s tech company. It’s small, but everybody there is well trained.”

“That’s great, Felix, I-”

“And Ferdinand just showed up.” Felix continued, holding up a hand “He has another six. And a legal contract saying they aren’t here to ruin us.”

Dimitri blinked. “I’m almost glad I missed all of that.” He said, an edge of self deprecation “I’m not in the best space to handle it.” He paused “I’m sorry again.”

Felix swatted him lightly. “Stop. You’re in charge. But you have limits, let us help, then take over, that’s all we need.”

“Fine but I get to lead the next immensely stressful charge.”

“Deal.” Felix agreed, smile curling on his mouth.

“I…Sylvain told me last night. That he proposed.”

The heat in his face arrived suddenly. “Ah…yes.”

“I didn’t get the chance to say congratulations.” Dimitri said “I know it’s a bad time for it, but I am very happy for you two. I look forward to helping however I can.”

“Thank you. Dimitri.” He hesitated then, words dying on his lips.

“Yes Felix?”

“You’ll be my best man, right?”

“Of course. I want to talk more, but you need to go lash life rafts together.”

Felix looked closely at his friend, hands still holding onto a persistent tremor, eye drooping. “Yes, all of this is agreeable to you?”

Dimitri nodded “I trust you, tell me how it goes, in the meantime, I-” He yawned “I’ll join you in a while.”

Their conversation wrapped up quickly then, Dimitri laying back down, Felix sweeping from the room and hitting the elevator button to get to floor three. When the doors opened, Sylvain looked back at him in surprise. “Hey there.”

Felix smiled, stepping into the elevator.

“I love when you smile.” Sylvain murmured, gripping Felix’s chin and leaning down to kiss him soundly as the doors closed. “I was just coming to get you to F. Anything I can do?”

“Crunch numbers as the meeting progresses.”

Sylvain responded by swiping his tongue through Felix’s mouth, making the darker haired man sigh. Sylvain pulled back and winked. “You’re particularly tasty today.” He grabbed the strap on his shoulder and tugged, making the laptop bag at his hip jostle. “Real time updates it is.”

“Oh, Ferdinand and some former employees of Adrestian may come over too.” Felix added, the elevator already at floor three, delivering the news as they walked. Trying to get the flush on his face under control.

“You’re not gonna make me like, fight all your exes when they work for us, right?” Sylvain teased “Cuz I might be able to take Lysithea but I feel like Ferdinand is going to be a problem.”

“We went on two dates in college, leave me alone.”

Sylvain was still laughing as he opened the door for Felix, Seteth and his group looking up in surprise when they walked in.

The setup and meeting in general were fast. Seteth was a shrewd negotiator and also very aware of the situation he was in. He’d brought all six of the remaining employees of Seiros. Catherine, Shamir, Manuela, Hannerman, and Alois. Annette, hard worker and efficient as she was, had a basic form for acquisition, which after debate, turned into Seiros dissolving and the seven being hired into the head office.

A knock halfway through led to the former Adrestians entering and sitting at the table as well.

“Can you all” Annette gestured vaguely “Chill, while I look over our contract templates for this?” She asked, opening a second computer and setting it next to her first one. “Sylvain can you message me your-” a ping “You’re so much more useful then you seem.”

“Hey!”

Mercedes giggled “Felix thinks so too!”

“Mercedes!” Ashe gasped “We’re in a meeting! A professional meeting!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Dorothea snickered into her hand five seats away. “I think we can forgive a little less professional dignity. On account of everything exploding, of course.”

“U-um. C-can I, um. I have my template, I know you can’t u-use it but if you let us stay could we integrate our legal templates? I wrote my own.” Benadetta stammered out, eyes wide at Annettes determined typing.

“Bernie is having much usefulness.” Petra agreed, nodding sharply. “We are all having usefulness. I promise this.”

Annette waved her hand again and resumed typing.

“So Ashe, you and I are working communication, do you have any specific tips for the job?” Shamir asked after a moment.

“Oh! Well, it’s always best to call Site C first, as they’re always early or on time, and it keeps them running well. Then call Site A, which is always off, and then B, which is midway, we may need to reshuffle as we…re-restructure.”

After a few minutes of idle chatter Annette printed off the forms and walked out, returning with the new contracts and passing them out. “A notary needs to watch you sign, I’m one, Dedue is one…Uh.”

Bernadetta raised a hand “I-I’m one! Linhardt too.”

“Oh! Linhardt is in legal too?”

“I and Hanneman are also notaries.” Seteth offered. “Between three lawyers these contracts should go quickly.”

“So this says we can’t report active information back to Adrestian.” Caspar stated midway through “So policy and procedure are okay? Not that I wanna tell them anything, but like, can we discuss policy etcetera here?”

“It’s not numerical information, and you guys will already have out of date information, but building our skills or procedure options is fine.” Annette said, sitting back in her spot and grabbing the first laptop. “Sylvain, for the Pixel thing I need our tech bud-” Ping. “I love you today.” A few more moments of tapping as everybody signed on, new hire paperwork, NDAs, former binding contracts for the few from Adrestian. “Felix look this over, think they’ll go for it? It’s as generous as I can be, but it’s going to be a pain to go through a merger with a smaller, also floundering company.”

Felix grabbed the laptop and read through it, asking for clarification when needed. “Yeah, it sounds great. You got my email with the-”

“Of course I have the address, Felix!”

“Alright, run it over.”

“You’re demanding today.” She huffed, standing. “Mercie, can you please take my stuff back to my office? I’m going to go get the offer I printed. See you all in a few hours, I’ll hopefully be back with a tech branch.”

After a few minutes of closing conversation everybody parted. And they went about their day. Their new hires set to start Monday. Which was….four days off.

“Well, that went well.” Sylvain said, sounding pleased “Doubtlessly due to our awesome team, but I’m willing to share credit.” He was sprawled out, feet on Dimitri’s desk as Felix tapped away on Dimitri’s computer.

“Share the credit, eh?” Felix responded, shoulders feeling less tense than this morning, scowl gone as it always was when Sylvain was nearby. “Don’t you have stuff to do?”

Sylvain rolled his eyes and sat up properly, feet on the ground. “I have all the files, I’m just waiting for people to ask for them, I’m not gonna just start firing pricing documents people aren’t ready for, nobody needs a cardiac episode today.”

“True. Want to remote in and help me with email?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Sylvain pulled out his laptop and did as requested. “So, in all the commotion, we haven’t gotten to celebrate the whole…engagement.” He offered after a few minutes in, not faltering in the rapid typing.

“Ah, yeah. I mean, we celebrated with other people but.”

“Well, before we tell everyone, though how they didn’t notice you wearing your ring, I love Lysithea by the way, and have a party or something, can we, I dunno, celebrate on our own?”

“Literally at work.”

Sylvain winked “Never stopped me before.” Seeing Felix’s dark, tired expression he backtracked. “I’m just saying, let’s get dinner this weekend. See a movie, have lots of wild sex, fiance things.” He smiled “But this weekend. For now, consider me a model employee.” He even sounded serious.

Felix nodded slowly, rereading the email he was sending, then hitting the button. “I…I’d like that.”

“I thought the engagement was impressive, give me a little bit and Saturday will blow your mind.”

Sylvain clicked, likely to send an email, as Felix opened a new one and winced at the all caps. “I’m marrying you, you don’t need to lavish me with grand plans.”

“Blasphemy.”

“Pretty sure that’s a religious context. Romance or whatever isn’t one.”

He got a look on his face that Felix recognized as a bad line “I’m a pretty devout believer in your faith.”

“I feel like I could have walked in at a better time, should I go back to sleep?” A tired voice sounded from the side.

Felix sighed and stood “Want your chair back Dimitri?”

Sylvain didn’t even blush.


	6. Rose and Champagne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annette arrives at the Golden Pixel. It goes very fast and very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit rushed and not super fun. I'm having a bit of a hard time mentally, and also I'm an idiot who is up at 1:30am writing this anyway.

Annette pulled up next to the curb in front of a small rental building. The placard reading “Golden Pixel” was under two other businesses and fastened to the brick of the building. Grabbing her briefcase she slid out of her car and locked the door, jogging lightly to the door. Her short heels made little clack noises as she bounced through the door, a fun noise she planned to explore later. She loved the click-clack of a pair of new shoes.

She really wished this place had a doorbell though. She was just…inside.

However, she did hear voices! Taking a moment, Annette set her briefcase down, and brushed her hands efficiently over her hair and clothes to look more put together. Just because Felix (and the world at large) had her running all over Fodlan today didn’t mean she couldn’t look cute.

“Knock knock!” She called as she rapped on the door frame of what seemed to be a nice break room. The group of people inside looked at her in confusion. “Hi! I’m Annette. Are you the Golden Pixel crew?”

A handsome man in a weirdly bright yellow shirt stood up as a blonde man in circular glasses huffed out something about ‘Pixel Perfect’ and wow, Annette loved that movie.

“Yeah, hey, look. I’m sure you’ve heard, but we have rent paid so-”

“Oh! No! Nonononono. I’m Annette Dominic? I head legal at Bright Lion. I thought Felix may have given you like, a heads up or something. No, I’m not here to evict you, I’m here to ask if you wanna join the life boat.”

“Join…the life raft?” The man asked. Annette really liked his eyes, so green! Today was awful and if she could be less excited that would be great.

“Yeah, you’re tech, we need a tech branch. I even have our first proposal!”

A man with a sharp jaw and purple hair set down a plate with cake and walked over. “You have a copy right now?”

“Yeah, way to not look desperate everyone. Great job.” The green eyed man sighed. Then he held out a hand. “Claude von Riegan, owner of Golden Pixel.” His hand was super nice. Was it possible to give a good handshake? Apparently.

The purple haired man stuck out his hand “Lorenz Gloucester. I’m technically an investor/COO hybrid.”

Annette settled her case on a table and unlatched it, pulling out two copies of the proposal and handing them over. “I know I’m biased but it’s pretty generous! I can stay and answer preliminary questions.”

“Well then you should have cake!” A woman with pink hair and fashionable earrings chimed in, standing and cutting a slice of a nice looking tiered cake and bringing it over. “It’s Lorenz’s welcome back cake but I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Indeed I don’t!” Lorenz chimed in, waving a hand magnanimously as he set his cake down to take one of the proposals from Claude. “Lysithea has simply outdone herself with it, it’s to die for.”

A shorter white haired woman waved from a small couch with a blue haired woman. The man with the round glasses and another man with blonde hair were sitting across from them, and they waved as well.

“I’m Hilda.” The pink haired woman said. “The blue haired beauty over there is my lovely girlfriend Marianne, the white haired lady is Lysithea. Then Ignatz in the glasses, Raphael is next to him and…Where’d Leonie go?”

A bright haired woman walked in behind Annette “I’m right here what’s up who’s this?”

“A goddess.” Claude said from his seat at the table he’d dropped at, eyes looking over the papers he’s been handed. “Seriously, divine.”

Annette took a bite of her cake. “Oh wow! Lysithea you made this? It’s so good!”

The girl nodded sharply and didn’t answer.

“Her and Felix, apparently!” Hilda jumped back in with an odd pout at the other woman. “They bake together all the time and don’t tell their friends, I guess!” 

“Ah, before we get into Lysithea’s love life.” Claude called again. “We don’t have a lot of options, and this is a great offer. All I wanna add is that I want the ability to renegotiate if anything comes up. Unless you’ve got something, Lorenz?”

“So far it’s all great. But aren’t you being a bit rash accepting it so quickly?”

“Look it’s this or more struggle. So, as owner, let’s put it to a vote. Who here wants to form a part of Bright Lion? We’ll have to move out stuff out and drop the lease here.”

“I can give you my phone number!” Annette chirped. “And you can get back to me with-”

“Nope, hands are up. When do we sign? And can I keep this? I wanna go over it more, see if I have a gripe about anything.”

“Well, everyone new is starting Monday. We could do a merger dinner next week…Hmmm. Friday?” Annette said, pulling out her phone and opening her work group chat and firing off the suggestion. Immediately receiving affirmatives from Sylvain and Ingrid. Dimitri sent a message a moment later with the name of a nice restaurant and ‘On us’ and she didn’t know if it was really him or if it was Felix but whatever.

“I do admire the efficiency.” Lorenz said, still paging through his packet. “It sounds lovely.”

As Claude nodded Annette shot off another message ‘book it!’ “Yeah, I’m in. Where and what time?”

“Are these all your employees? Do you want them all to come?”

“Uh, yeah. Unless it’s past Lysithea’s bedtime.”

“Oh fuck off Claude!”

As they laughed, Annette sent off the number of people. And then waited. The Golden Pixel group laughed and joked amongst themselves as Annette waited for a reply. Happily sending an emoji when the info came through. “How does Tailtean at 5pm Saturday after this one sound?”

Claude grinned, shaking Annette’s hand after she hastily took another bite of cake “Sounds like you’ve got a deal!”


End file.
